EFFECTIVENESS OF A HIGH-SCHOOL ALCOHOL MISUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM

An alcohol misuse prevention curriculum for tenth-grade students was d eveloped, implemented, and evaluated through twelfth grade with 1041 s tudents from four school districts. The curriculum emphasized social p ressures resistance training, immediate effects of alcohol, risks of a lcohol misuse, and social pressures to misuse alcohol. There were desi rable program effects on alcohol misuse prevention knowledge (p <0.001 ), alcohol misuse (p <0.02), and refusal skills (p <0.09). Gender by o ccasion differences were found on alcohol use, alcohol misuse, and dri ving after drinking, with boys' rates increasing more than those of gi rls. Exposure to a sixth-grade, as well as the tenth-grade, program di d not result in better outcomes. Despite high levels of alcohol use am ong high school students, a tenth-grade curriculum can result in some desirable effects. Creative approaches are needed, however, especially for boys who tend to use and misuse alcohol at rates that increase mo re steeply than those of girls.